The Arab Spring: Perspectives from the Ground

March 27, 2012

Journalists who covered last year’s Arab Spring revolutions, and Chicago-area experts who witnessed the events firsthand, explore the impact and implications of the movements during this panel discussion.

"The Arab Spring: Perspectives from the Ground" also will address the role of the media in the democracy movements in the Middle East and North Africa. The event is part of the Spring Term programming that was developed under a partnership between Elmhurst College and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, an award-winning journalism non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Elmhurst College’s departments of English and Religious Studies are co-sponsors of the event.

Ellen Knickmeyer is Saudi correspondent for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. Knickmeyer was bureau chief for The Washington Post in Baghdad and Cairo, and Associated Press bureau chief for West Africa. With Pulitzer Center support, she spent the last year reporting on youth movements in Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, and Saudi Arabia.

William Wheeler has reported on the rebirth of Libya and the plight of its migrant workers with support from the Pulitzer Center. His prior reporting includes an in-depth examination of the politics of water and climate change in South Asia. His work has appeared in Foreign Affairs, TIME, and Global Post, among others.

Ghada Hashem Talhami is the D.K. Pearsons professor of politics, emerita, at Lake Forest College. Talhami is a frequent lecturer, guest on radio and television programs, journal editor, and author of six books, including The Mobilization of Muslim Women in Egypt and Palestine in the Egyptian Press.

Laith Al-Saud is an instructor in the Islamic World Studies program at DePaul University. A Baghdad native, Al-Saud serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Islamic Law and Culture and is a regular contributor to NPR. He recently reported on interviews he gathered from the Muslim Brotherhood during a visit to Egypt at the time of the Egyptian Revolution.

The partnership launched last fall between Elmhurst and Pulitzer includes seminars, lectures and other educational opportunities for students, faculty, and the wider community. The programming is designed to help prepare Elmhurst College students and others from the Chicago area for the journalistic world they will face in the future—one that is highly digital, dynamic, competitive, and global.

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting promotes in-depth engagement with global affairs through its sponsorship of quality international journalism across all media platforms and an innovative program of outreach and education.

Elmhurst College is a leading liberal arts college located eight miles west of Chicago. The College’s mission is to prepare its students for meaningful and ethical work in a multicultural, global society. Approximately 3,400 full- and part-time students are enrolled in its 22 undergraduate academic departments and nine graduate degree programs.